Albert Kister Park

St Charles has been such a wonderful surprise for me!  Here with Tyler's family for the PGA Championship, we are walking distance from the historic district full of fabulous shopping, antique architecture, and the Mississippi River.  Truly a painter's paradise, I am squeezing in paintings whenever I can,  be it first thing in the morning or during little Nolan's lunch break!  My sketch bag disguised as a purse serves me well with my four pens, two watercolor sets, two water brushpens, and assorted paper.  I can start painting at the drop of a hat, and close up fast when I need to.  With so much historic beauty, I really do need more time here!  I definitely need to return with some of my closest artist friends! Painting number 2034 in 2034 days.

Western House

This wonderful building grabbed me the very first time I saw it.  Rich with history, this kind of architecture is rare in Missouri, in fact, I've not seen it before.  The whole place makes me think of Williamsburg. The antique shops in the historic district are amazing and vast.  We didn't see them all, and we spent four days exploring town!  The ink and watercolor is so much faster for me, so my oils were only out a couple days. Pictured here is my plein air set up for ink and watercolor. So tiny, it all fits in a small 6x10 purse.  I LOVE being prepared for little gems like this!  Painting number 2031 in 2031 days.

North 4th Street Alley

From the back perch of our B&B, this scene down the back alley called to me.  While waiting on my husband, I sketched out the composition with India ink.  Before I could get to the paint, it was time to leave for the historic Mill Stream Inn and some shopping in the oldest part of town.  Knowing the light couldn't possibly be the same in the morning, I ventured out anyway to take a peak.  It was wonderful!  Not quite the same, as different as late light and early light, but the strong light and shadow hit from almost the same masses in different directions!  Yay!  So, while everyone prepared to head out, I painted those masses as quickly as possible!  I'm so glad I did, this painting holds all of the original vision I had the evening before!  Painting number 2030 in 2030 days.

1129 N 4th Street

With a hot cup of tea and a cool spot in the shade of our B&B's front porch, this charming brick house called to me.  With some quick line work, I started in with my watercolors.  When I first used these little pan sets, I wiped the mixing areas clean after every use, keeping them shiny and new.  Now, I find it's much faster for me to leave those dried mixes on the tray! With a bit of water from my water brushpen, the color reactivates, and I've skipped a mixing step. Often I can just pick up a bit of another color, drop it right into the old mix, and voila, I'm already painting.  I'm all about time saving measures, and this works well with my limited mixing style.  I never would have believed how much is enjoy ink and watercolor painting, just two short years ago. ALWAYS keep learning, the forward progress can be invigorating!  Painting number 2029 in 2029 days.